1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to a compact zoom lens that achieves wide angles, has a high zoom ratio, and is suitable for digital imaging apparatuses such as digital still cameras and digital video cameras.
2. Description of the Related Art
Reductions in the size of digital imaging apparatuses such as digital still cameras, broadcast cameras, and surveillance cameras have advanced. Accordingly, zoom lenses that are compact and, have a high zoom ratio and high imaging performance are demanded as imaging optical systems for use on such digital imaging apparatuses.
To address such demands, several zoom lenses are known that sequentially include from an object side, a first lens group having a positive refractive power, a second lens group having a negative refractive power, and a third lens group having a positive refractive power that is followed by 1 or more lens groups (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication Nos. 2011-33868, 2012-98699, and 2009-282398).
The zoom lens recited in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2011-33868 has a zoom ratio on the order of 9 to 41.2, and an angle of view at the wide angle edge on the order of 68.4 to 79.6 degrees. The zoom lens recited in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2012-98699 has a zoom ratio on the order of 33.5 to 44.25, and an angle of view at the wide angle edge on the order of 74 to 84 degrees. The zoom lens recited in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2009-282398 has a zoom ratio on the order of 9.7 to 19.4, and an angle of view at the wide angle edge on the order of 74 to 84 degrees.
Although the zoom lenses disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication Nos. 2011-33868 and 2012-98699 have a sufficiently large angle of view at the wide angle edge and a sufficiently large zoom ratio, the maximum image height at the wide angle edge cannot be said to be sufficiently large and high imaging performance cannot be achieved. If the image height at the wide angle edge is increased, the diameter of the optical system has to be increased. However, if the diameter of the optical system is increased, the overall length of the optical system accordingly increases. In either case, a compact size for the optical system cannot be maintained, making use on a compact imaging apparatus difficult.
Further, the zoom lens disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2009-282398 corrects image blur by moving the third lens group in a direction orthogonal to the optical axis. Nonetheless, in the zoom lens, the anti-shake coefficient (amount that image shifts/amount that anti-shake group is shifted) of the third lens group at the telephoto edge decreases and therefore, the distance that the third lens group is moved to prevent blurring at the telephoto edge increases. As a result, the imaging performance when blur is corrected deteriorates. Further, a large area for the third lens group to move has to be established, inviting increases in the size of the optical system. In addition, the mechanism for driving the third lens group also has to be of a larger size.
Since the zoom ratio of the zoom lens disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2009-282398 is on the order of 9.7 to 19.4, compared to that of the zoom lenses disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication Nos. 2011-33868 and 2012-98699, the zoom ratio is insufficient. However, if the zoom ratio is increased, the distance that the lens group for zooming moves increases and the overall length of the optical system increases, which hinders attempts to reduce the size of the optical system.